Over time, as the performance of rack mounted computer systems has increased, the amount of heat generated by various computer system components has increased. This, in turn, requires enhanced cooling to maintain required operating temperatures. The most common approach to computer system cooling is the use of fans. However, with the ever-increasing power budget and space constraints of rack mounted computer systems, available cooling solutions are limited. Because space constraints restrict the physical size of fans, a common solution is the use of fans with high revolutions per minute (RPM). However, high RPM fans significantly increase the amount of vibration generated throughout the computer system. Conventionally, computer servers are thin, and there is very little tolerance between the individual hardware racks within the computer system.
The design of fan modules are becoming increasingly complex and ever-increasing requirements are being imposed on the design. Fan modules need to be easily replaced FRUs (Field-Replaceable Units), and have tool-less installation and removal. Installation also needs to be fool-proof, to prevent incorrect installation of fan modules. In addition, fan modules require mechanical isolation to prevent transmission of mechanical vibration to sensitive Hard Disk Drive (HDD) modules.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional example of fan module. In FIG. 1, the fan module (100) is fixed within a bracket (102). The bracket (102) is a tool-less fan attachment into which the fan module (100) is placed so that the vibration caused by the fan (within the fan module (100)) rotating at high speeds is isolated within the bracket (102). The bracket (102) is typically placed within the chassis of the computer system, as can be seen in FIG. 1.